My Genealogy Hound

ASARIAH BRUSS, farmer; P. O. Arcanum; son of John and Mary (Sherman) Bruss; John was a native of Pennsylvania; his father, whose name was also John, came to Preble Co., Ohio, in 1819, the son being then 3 years old, and afterward removed to Marion Co., Ind., where his death occurred. Mary is the daughter of John and Susannah Sherman, natives of Maryland; the father had sold off his loose property to be in readiness to move West, but sickened and died about the time he had intended to start, and the widow came soon after to Preble Co., Ohio; Mary was born in Maryland in 1815; John Bruss, Jr., and Mary Sherman were married in Preble Co., in 1837; they first began domestic life in Preble Co.; he worked by the day or job as he could, mostly making shingles and roofing barns, for several years; then farmed a year or two in Preble Co., and in 1850 came to Darke Co., and purchased a farm near Matchetts Corners, where Asariah grew to manhood; in 1872, they traded for and removed to the farm in Sec. 11, where the widow now resides, his decease having occurred Oct. 26, 1878. Asariah was born in Preble Co., Jan. 18, 1843, grew to manhood here in Butler Township before the era of good schools, good roads, and easy farming; he was married Jan. 22, 1867, to Miss Mary E., daughter of Joseph Hittle, and they lived with his parents several years, he having charge of his father’s farm; the same year in which his father traded farms, Asariah purchased 33 acres in the same section, and built a small house just across the road from his father’s, where they first began housekeeping by themselves, and are still residing, he here having charge of the old homestead, where his widowed mother now resides. In 1862, Azariah enlisted in the 94th Ohio V. I., and faithfully served his country three years, enduring the hardships and privations, as well as the dangers of the service, willingly, in defense of the flag of our country; he passed unharmed through several severe engagements, was taken prisoner while under Sherman, at Goldsboro, N. C., but was only held seven days, then paroled; the capture of Richmond and surrender of Lee soon followed, and he, with the other remaining brave defenders of their country, was mustered out of service and joyfully returned home, receiving glad and grateful welcome from friends and neighbors. Mr. and Mrs. Bruss have six children.